Movie review: ‘The Caine Mutiny’

I’ve never been big on old films, but I have been intrigued by the career and talent of the iconic and legendary Humphrey Bogart. I’ve started to watch “Casablanca” and “The African Queen” several times, but for a variety of reasons never finished either of these Hollywood classics. I also will one day watch “The Maltese Falcon,” which is regarded as one of the first classic noir films. However, for one film, I did find his performance in “The Caine Mutiny” one of the best. Not only that, it’s a film framed by World War II and is an excellent example of that era. So, today I’m going to review the only Bogie movie I’ve ever seen in its entirety. It is a complete understatement to write: Quite a talented actor and quite a talented supporting cast, too.

‘The Caine Mutiny’
(1954; 124 minutes; rated PG; directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Fred MacMurray and Van Johnson)

SIMPLY ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS

(NOTE: I updated this review with additional links on July 26, 2015. I again expanded it with additional opinion and trivia on May 29, 2016. I again expanded it on Feb. 24, 2020. I again expanded it on May 25, 2026.)

I’m not a big fan of the era of movies shot in black-and-white, but when it is a World War II-era flick starring Humphrey Bogart, I knew that I had to watch it. I didn’t expect it to be the equal of epic war films such as “The Great Escape” (click here to read my review) or “Battle of the Bulge” (click here to read my review) or come anywhere near the drama of “Stalag 17.” These three collectively possess all the best elements of war films: outstanding drama; outstanding acting; and big-screen, big-spectacle filmmaking. Surely, “The Caine Mutiny” couldn’t compete. Could it?

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Boy, I quickly realized that “The Caine Mutiny,” one of three films starring Bogie released in 1954, was the dramatic equal to “Stalag 17” (“The Caine Mutiny” was nominated for seven Oscars; “Stalag 17” had a Best Actor win and two other nominations) and that’s certainly impressive. Further, while those other two war films can be classified as “epic” in nature, “The Caine Mutiny” is much more personal and personality-driven.

“The Caine Mutiny” was also in color and a big player on the big screen. “Stalag 17” benefited from its black-and-white film as a way to show the grimy environment of the prison camp, while “The Caine Mutiny” benefited from color in the ocean scenes. Without question, all the films offer top-shelf performances from top-shelf actors.

Bogart won an Oscar for Best Actor for “The African Queen” and was nominated for “Casablanca” and “The Caine Mutiny.” If he didn’t win for “The Caine Mutiny,” then I can only imagine how good he was in the other two. As for other actors, I got a surprise both by the quality of the work of just about every member of the primary cast as well as the difference of character type for Fred MacMurray. Finally, research through IMDb.com showed that an up-and-coming actor’s career would be ended by tragedy.

Now, to the film.

The plot is straightforward: a U.S. Navy ship during World War II has a tired, slack crew and a tired captain who put up with the slacking off. Enter a new skipper for the U.S.S. Caine fresh from combat against U-boats in the Atlantic. The new skipper immediately begins to ride the crew and sends just about everyone, including himself, over the edge. The film winds up in a military courtroom where it all comes to a head.

The story by Herman Wouk would be a hit on both the big screen and Broadway. Now, here’s my look at top of the movie’s cast:

• 

  Bogart, who plays “Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg,” was tailor-made for this role. He is at the same time commanding, a martinet, paranoid and even reveals a soft side (before Nixon, he used his family dog to try to get sympathy – maybe that’s where the disgraced former president got the idea). Bogey easily handles the frenetic shifts in Queeg’s emotions. Frankly I was surprised at the depth of Bogart’s talent as I expected a 1950s Hollywood star-type persona. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The single most powerful scene in this film (and would stand above most of any other film) is when Bogart gives testimony at the court martial. The quick evolution of his characters traits truly showcases his huge talent. Even with a re-watch of his performance, I stand in awe of what Bogie shows me in this film. Sadly, Bogart left us somewhat early at 57 in 1957 of esophageal cancer – and that was just 2 ½ years after the release of “The Caine Mutiny.”

• 

  Behind Bogie, A Primetime Emmy nominee, Van Johnson, who plays “Lt. Steve Maryk” the Caine’s executive officer. He is a workhorse in this film. Johnson gives his all from being friendly to efficient to worried and finally to taking command. Johnson, who was also in “Battleground,” “Where Angels Go Trouble Follows!” (click here to read my review), “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo” and a string of TV episodes including “Love American Style” and “Murder, She Wrote,” cannot be faulted for this performance – he’s both solid and vulnerable; both confident and doubting himself; and in the end he’s completely honest with both everyone else and then finally himself. A tour de force for Johnson, who was a nominate for the mini-series “Rich Man, Poor Man.” Johnson died at 92 in 2008.

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  Coming in for the final act of this film is Oscar winner (not for this one) José Ferrer, who plays “Lt. Barney Greenwald,” the officer who will defend Johnson at the court martial. Like Johnson, Ferrer is at his best as the blustery, confident and aggressive attorney. Ferrer was also in lesser known films such as “The Evil that Men Do” (a pure stinkbomb); “The Big Brawl” with Jackie Chan (click here to read my review); “Ship of Fools” and also like Johnson, in a string of TV episodes including “Newhart,” “Fantasy Island” and “Quincy, M.E.” He won his Oscar for “Cyrano de Bergerac” and got nominations for 1952’s “Moulin Rouge” and 1948’s “Joan of Arc.” He died at 80 in 1992 of colon cancer.

• 

  A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), MacMurray turns out a great effort as “Lt. Tom Keefer,” the Caine’s budding author. The role is a complete reversal from MacMurray’s signature character of “Steve Douglas” on the hit family TV show “My Three Sons.” Unlike the TV show character, MacMurray is cynical (and shares it freely) and develops perfectly as the not-too-obvious villain in the story – at least initially. His pivotal scene at a party at the end with Ferrer is priceless. It’s not easy to evolve a character as a back-stabbing, miserable piece of poison, but MacMurry does a yeoman’s job here (pun intended) and his Golden Globe nomination was for Disney’s “The Absent Minded Professor.” He died at 83 in 1991 of a variety of aliments including leukemia.

• A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), E.G. Marshall, has the key role of the court martial prosecutor “Lt. Cmdr. Challee.” Marshall is known for his abilities across all genres and from film to TV. He was in “12 Angry Men,” “The Bridge at Remagen,” “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (click here to read my review) plus TV roles in everything from “The Brady Bunch” to “Night Gallery” and to “Falcon Crest.” I enjoyed him best in his very small role in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase (click here to read my review). His nomination was for “The Defenders.” Marshall died at 84 in 1998 of lung cancer.
• An Oscar winner (not for this one), Lee Marvin, who would go on to a great career in Hollywood including “The Dirty Dozen,” “The Big Red One” (click here to read my review), “Gorky Park” and “Paint Your Wagon,” has a small part as “Meatball,” one of the “Caine’s” slack but combat hardened sailors. He doesn’t have any chance to develop the character and it is next to impossible to convey much in what little he does have. However, his brief scene in testifying at the court martial shows why he was cast in the part – he’s just really solid and has talent. He won his Oscar for “Cat Ballou.” Marvin died at 63 in 1987 of a heart attack.
• Joining Marvin with a small role is well-known TV actor Claude Akins as “Seaman ‘Horrible’ Luglatch.” Like Marvin, Akins is a slacker who’s verbally disciplined by Bogie at a time the captain should have been paying attention to where his ship was headed. Akins was in “Rio Bravo” and a string of TV roles including “Fantasy Island,” “Police Story” and “Mannix.” I enjoyed his work in a small role as a sheriff covering up killings by a vampire in the excellent tee-vee horror flick “The Night Stalker” (click here to read my review). Akins died at 67 in 1994 of cancer.

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  A then Hollywood newcomer, Robert Francis plays “Ensign Willis Seward ‘Willie’ Keith.” Francis had the clean-cut good looks of 1950s Hollywood and did a solid job in “The Caine Mutiny.” He easily conveys “Keith’s” rookie status, vulnerability but also good ethics and a frank openness to learn. Francis was in two other movies that were released in 1954 and then one the next year. However, his career (which had been critically well-received) ended in 1955 when the private plane he was piloting crashed near the Burbank, Calif., airport and he was killed at the age of 25. One can only wonder what impact he would have had on films into the 1960s.

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  Two supporting actors also got notice: May Wynn, as Francis’ girlfriend “May Wynn,” and Tom Tully as “Cmdr. William H. DeVriess.” May was unexceptional as this cast goes and Tully solid (he received an Oscar nomination here, but was against huge other talent). Tully had a leg amputated after he contracted a disease while entertaining troops in Vietnam as part of a USO show and the debilitating effects ultimately led to his death from cancer at age 73 in 1982. He was also in Clint Eastwood’s “Coogan’s Bluff.” Wynn died at 93 in 2021.

Although it had seven Academy Award nominations, “The Caine Mutiny” didn’t win. However, it was tough competition for Best Film since it was up against “On the Waterfront” with Marlon Brando (both winners over “The Caine Mutiny” and Bogie). As for the source material, click here for Wiki’s entry about author Herman Wouk’s two-act play “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” that was on Broadway before it was made into this film (which had its premiere the year after the play had its first run).

“The Caine Mutiny” raked in $21.8 million on a budget of $2 million and was the fifth ranked film at the box office in 1954, according to Wiki. It didn’t lag far behind the No. 1 film “White Christmas,” which made $30 million. Although, $9 million in those days went further than it does today. The only other film from that year that I’ve reviewed is:

• “Beachhead” (Tony Curtis at war) – click here for my review

Other cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

• Bogart’s middle name was DeForest; Ferrer’s full birth name was José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón and he was born in Puerto Rico; Johnson’s full birth name was Charles Van Dell Johnson and his nickname was “The Voiceless Sinatra;” Wynn’s birth name was Donna Lee Hickey and her married name was Donna Custer; Marshall’s birth name was Everett Eugene Grunz; and Tully’s full birth name was spelled Thomas Kane Tulley.
• “The Caine Mutiny” was reportedly the inspiration for the screen name of actor Maurice Micklewhite. You know him better as Michael Caine.
• Several of the primary cast would take a cruise on TV’s “The Love Boat” (one of my personal favorites), including Ferrer, Johnson and Akins (click here for my overview of the series).
• Directly from IMDb.com: “The scars on Van Johnson‘s face in this film are real, not makeup. While filming A Guy Named Joe (1943), Johnson was in an automobile accident and thrown through the car’s windshield. The plastic surgery of the day could not totally remove his scars. In all his later films he wore heavy makeup to hide them but felt that, in this film, they added to his character’s appearance.”
• Finally and directly from Wiki: “Bogart was a founding member and the original leader of the Hollywood Rat Pack. In the spring of 1955, after a long party in Las Vegas attended by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, her husband Sidney Luft, Michael Romanoff and his wife Gloria, David Niven, Angie Dickinson and others, (Bogie’s wife Lauren) Bacall surveyed the wreckage and said: ‘You look like a goddamn rat pack.’ … Sinatra was dubbed Pack Leader; Bacall Den Mother; Bogart Director of Public Relations, and Sid Luft Acting Cage Manager.”

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